Governor Phillip Walk

Named in honour of NSW’s first Governor, this walk follows in the footsteps of his 1788 expedition to find farm land. The walk starts at the end of Ferguson St, Forestville. Passing the NPWS office and depot, the walk then follows Carroll Creek down to the official start of the Governor Phillip Walk. For the most part, this walk follows a bush track along Middle Harbour creek, to the stepping stones crossing, before returning the same way.

(0km) End of Ferguson St → Int of Casuarina and Carroll Creek Tracks

530 m

12 mins

3m

-57m

Moderate track

From the end of Ferguson Rd, Forestville, this walk heads through the Garigal National Park gate and along the driveway. Soon this walk passes the ‘Northern Beaches Area Office and Depot’ on the left (and a small car park on the right) and a short distance further, the driveway come to an intersection with a service trail on the right and a sign to “Casuarina and Carroll Creek ->”.Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Carrol Creek Track’ signs down the hill and along the service trail, winding down past a short loop service trail, before coming to the signposted intersection of the ‘Casuarina and Carroll Creek’ tracks.

Moderate track

Veer right: From the intersection, this walk heads down the concrete stairs next to the metal railing, to the bottom, where it turns onto a bush track just before a metal bridge. (The track doesn’t cross the bridge, but does have quite a pretty view of Carroll Creek.) Continuing along the bush track, this walk soon passes under a long rock overhang, and follows Carroll Creek for a while before coming to the signposted intersection of the ‘Lyrebird Track’ and the ‘Carroll Creek Track’ crossing.

Moderate track

Turn right: From the intersection, this walk crosses Carroll Creek at the stepping stones and continues along the bush track, passing the “Governor Phillip Walk” sign as the track bends to the left. This walk winds through the bush alongside Carrol Creek before steadily climbing up the rocky hill to the right for a little while. The track then drops back down to the edge of Middle Harbour Creek, which it follows as the walk undulates along the rocky bush track for a while, before crossing under a large pipe bridge to the end of an asphalt service trail.

Hard track

Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the concrete management trail up the hill as it bends to the right. The track soon passes a sign ‘Davidson Track’ pointing up the hill, as the track winds its way up. Then, about halfway up this hill, the track flattens out to cross a creek and to leave the National Park. The track continues steeply up the hill, with the pipe on the right of the track. There is a lookout point partway up, and, at the top of the hill, there is a brick pump house. From here, the trail become dirt and follows the pipe to John Oxley Drive (just a little way south of Prahran Ave).

Moderate track

Veer left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Bungaroo Track (450m)’ sign, keeping Middle Harbour Creek to the left. The bush track makes its way upstream following the main creek, but crossing a few small gullies along the way. The track then comes an intersection with a signpost ‘Bungaroo Track’ and stepping stones across the creek, clearly visable on the left.

Bungaroo

Governor Arthur Phillip (first governor of NSW) described this section of the river as where “the flowing of the tide ceased”. Phillip and his party of nine camped here in 1788 whilst looking for land suitable for farming. John White (Surgeon General) described the the area as “the most desert, wild and solitary seclusion that the imagination can form any idea of”. Over the past 200 years the river has changed, but somewhere not far upstream of the stepping stone is Bungaroo. More info.

Maps for the Governor Phillip Walk walk

You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.

Fire Danger

http://new.wildwalks.com/wildwalks_custom/includes/walk_fire_danger.php?walkid=nsw-gariganp-gpw
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.

Weather Forest

This walk starts in the Metropolitan weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.
http://new.wildwalks.com/wildwalks_custom/includes/walk_weather_danger.php?walkid=nsw-gariganp-gpw
Forecast snapshot